Intermittence

President Obama Slow-Jams the News

2012-04-25T10:21:00-05:00

I don’t know what to say.

Unintentional(?) Humor on Wikipedia

2012-04-03T15:38:00-05:00

Unintentional or not, the Ambiguity section of the Wikipedia article on the serial comma is hilarious. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading, but definitely did so at this.

They’re Back

2012-03-30T19:32:00-05:00

I meant to chop the rose bush down nearly to the ground this winter, but never got around to it. It’s a lopsided mess, and will probably pull itself right out of the ground the next time it gets windy.

In the meantime, however, it’s going to do a bit of this:

And this:

I’m satisfied.

(I’m even more satisfied that these pictures were taken with the excellent 5MP camera built into my iPad. If you’d like to see the full-resolution versions, let me know and I’ll send ‘em your way.)

OK Go: Needing/Getting

2012-02-12T09:13:00-06:00

I like what I’ve heard of their music, but haven’t felt an overpowering desire to seek out any new tunes. Perhaps it’s because their videos are so amazing that I’m worried I’ll be disappointed by the audio without accompanying visuals.

In any case, here’s their latest. The guys are geniuses.

Baked Eggs in Avocados

2012-02-03T08:23:00-06:00

Please tell me I’m not the only one that wants to eat this.

Daily.

Hello

2012-01-17T08:14:00-06:00

Hello.

You really should just read Daring Fireball instead of this blog.

James Bond Is a Prick

2012-01-12T07:24:00-06:00

Happy Thursday, everybody!

(Thanks to John Gruber for the link and blog post title.)

Edit: It looks like somebody couldn’t take a joke, so the video is down. It certainly seemed like those clips were used to create a parody, but what do I know?

Work

2011-11-03T07:36:00-05:00

The most important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative, and the second disastrous.
Margot Fonteyn

The real question, then, is this: What is your work, as opposed to your job?

Being My Best

2011-11-02T20:53:00-05:00

So, we’re on to Donnell’s second Girl Scout Badge challenge, though I’m late, late, late.

My Self-Portrait

I don’t like photographs of myself. My face is a little asymmetrical, and I have an angry red spot on my neck.

Five Things That Are Wonderful About Me

I’m emotional. I cry during movie scenes when people show great strength and integrity in the face of adversity, I cannot help but smile at the sound of people laughing or the sight of old couples holding hands, and I am quick to anger when I witness injustice. People rarely have to wonder about my mood, so I figure over the years I’ve saved many of my acquaintances hours of time which they were able to spend in better ways.
I’m easygoing. Usually. When it really counts. (There are a few exceptions, of course: I’m usually content to let people be themselves unless their stupidity starts affecting my ability to have fun, I don’t like when people don’t respect my hard work, and I don’t like being late. I expect Donnell can come up with a few other examples.) The way I see it, I am just one person of of seven billion, just one creature out of a number so big I can’t understand it, and my molecules are insignificant in the face of the observable universe. To think that I have even a tiny measure of control over the amazing variety of events that will transpire in my lifetime is laughable. All I can do is be true to myself, try to take the right path when I hit a fork in the road, and hang on for the ride. I’m usually easy to be with, and in my experience that’s a real rarity.
I love. It’s easy for me. I love (in no particular order) my wife, my mother, my father, my brother, the remainder of family, my friends, my dog, and my cat (sort of). I love, in an entirely different way, authors, scientists, poets, strangers, enemies, aliens, pandas, mountains, trees, wombats, Burmese Mountain Dogs, and everybody else. I am compassionate and empathic, and I believe that we all suffer (except the mountains, because they truly are not alive). It makes all of us alike in a way, part of a great amazing web of life and experience, and I cannot help but feel grateful that everything, everywhere, ever, led in some way to me being here, now, with my Donnell.
I think you’re great. There’s something about you that I either adore, admire, or simply respect. Even those people I really don’t like to be with can have a certain je ne sais quoi, even if it’s just an uncanny ability to get under my skin. A few years back, Donnell assigned her class the task of listing something that other kids in the class were good at, and some of the responses were along the lines of “So-and-so is really good at being stupid”. It’s a legitimate response, even if it wasn’t appreciated. That’s probably not the case with you, of course. You are truly great at something that I appreciate, and I really like that about you.
I’m an optimist. I like to think that I’m the person I’ve just described in the four previous items, even though I know that I’m only rarely that person through and through. I can be that person. We all can, and things are going to get better. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or the next day, but eventually. Sadness will pass, along with uncertainty and pain and doubt and fear and everything else that makes us unhappy. The sun’s going to come out eventually, and somebody’s going to tell you a great joke, and you’re going to eat something totally new and fantastic, and it’s all going to happen soon. I hope I’m there for it. I can hardly wait.

Two Talents

I am a talented problem-solver. I enjoy being presented with a puzzle or problem or conundrum, and being given an opportunity to work out the solution. I can sometimes take this too far, by focusing on the problem-solving process rather than on the solution itself, and I’m not necessarily good at executing a solution once one is devised, but I never claimed to be talented at follow-through.
I am good at learning new skills. Not necessarily to the point of proficiency, but to the level where I’m willing to speak at length on the subject. I’ve crocheted 95% of a doily, knit a hat and scarf, designed and assembled my own free-roaming, wheeled robot, designed web pages, coded database systems, installed laminate flooring, sheet-rocked a room, and a few dozen other things. I know I’m not great at any of those things (yet), but I’m always ready to find the next new challenge.

My Award

My Goals

This is probably the hardest part of the challenge, because it doesn’t involve talking about myself and it does involve revealing to the public ten things that I would like to do but (let’s be honest) probably won’t. I’m great at making plans but not so great at executing them, as mentioned above.

I should note that I almost fell into the trap of making vague statements for my goals, rather than concrete, achievable tasks. Bad, bad Chris! (See more here.)

Additionally, I’m not listing my usual goals (be a good husband, pay the bills on time, etc.) because they’re more properly habits, though habits that I occasionally falter on.

Five For The Year

Buy and use OmniFocus to plan, track, and keep on top of every project (where a project is a task that requires more than one step). I already have the iPad and iPhone versions of the software and like them, but don’t use them nearly enough.
Write an iOS app and publish it in the App Store. I don’t care what kind of app it is.
Pay off a substantial amount (at least 40%) of our debt. I’d love to say 50%, but I’d rather shoot a little low and be happy if/when I exceed my goal. Besides, debt becomes easier to handle as balances get lower and they incur less interest. I’ll be happy with 40%, very happy with 50%, and ecstatic with more.
Put off personal purchasing decisions for items that cost more than $75 for at least one full month after deciding to buy.
Dress like a grownup at least three times a month.

Five For The Next Month

Whip the web site for The Stitchin’ Place (our friend Gretchen’s new business venture) into shape and deploy it.
Make a Cunning Jayne Cobb Hat.
Finish rebuilding the ‘time machine’ souvenir prop for Drew, and then give it to him.
Make and eat breakfast at home at least once a week.
Complete the next Badge Challenge on time.

The Letters

Complimentary e-mails will be going out shortly.

Stupid Tree

2011-10-28T20:05:00-05:00

After an amazingly hot summer, the weather has finally turned. Our new Bradford Pear tree, having narrowly avoided death by dehydration, is now a little confused.

Boy is he going to be surprised when it dips below freezing in a few weeks. (The camera on the iPhone 4 does have nice depth of field, doesn’t it?)

iThermostat

2011-10-27T13:51:00-05:00

Have you heard about this thing?

It’s not made by Apple, but it might as well have, as the founder of the company is Tony Fadell, the one-time Senior Vice Preside of the iPod Divison at Apple. It’s a continually-self-programming thermostat that will, given just a few weeks, learn your habits and preferences and keep your environment comfortable while saving as much energy as possible.

It’s also $249, which is pretty expensive for a thermostat, and it’s unlikely that I’d recoup that much in energy savings. All the same, using less electricity is an admirable goal, wouldn’t you say?

PDBC

2011-10-23T15:04:00-05:00

Today at the Stephanie Pearl McPhee book signing in Austin, I was subjected to the following, which I consider totally inappropriate:

It’s PDBC: Public Display of Butt Crack.

I am not impressed.

Climate Skeptics Take Another Hit

2011-10-21T13:58:00-05:00

In the press release announcing the results, Muller said, “Our biggest surprise was that the new results agreed so closely with the warming values published previously by other teams in the US and the UK.” In other words, climate scientists know what they’re doing after all.

Anybody want to bet that this won’t change anybody’s mind?

(Thanks to John Gruber.)

Fashionable Fett

2011-10-17T10:04:00-05:00

He’s probably heading out for a job interview.

Duel

2011-10-17T08:41:00-05:00

Thanks to Donnell and Public School for this.

Truth

2011-10-14T09:22:00-05:00

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs2005 Stanford Commencement Address

On My Way

2011-10-01T18:48:00-05:00

I’ve been planning a trip as part of Donnell’s first Girl Scout Badge challenge and I’m a day late turning it in. I don’t feel bad, though, because Donnell is late as well.

Our long weekend is to a bed & breakfast in the Texas Hill Country: Rainbow Hearth.

The Plan

It begins with breakfast early on a Saturday morning, cooked by yours truly: Eggs, toast, strawberry preserves, thick-sliced bacon, and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Cleaning up is done quickly, and we hit the road before 10:00 AM, having already packed our bags and dropped Tully off with friends for the weekend.

The B&B is west of Burnet, on Lake Buchanan, and the 120-mile drive takes just over two hours. Once there, we take stock of the surroundings, lounge around on the deck of our yurt briefly, and enjoy the massages included in the vacation package. Any hiking or other exertion is totally out of the question now, so we head back to our suite and quietly enjoy each other’s company for the rest of the day, interrupted only briefly to take in a home-cooked dinner.

We awaken refreshed the next morning, hungry for breakfast and ready to explore the lake on rented kayaks. The northern reaches of the lake are known to be the nesting grounds of Bald Eagles, but the area is beautiful enough that seeing eagles would just be icing on the cake. We stop several times to take photographs and lunch, and head back to the B&B that afternoon in time to take a nap before dinner. We end the day with a long, meandering walk along the lake as the sun sets, and a long, relaxing soak in the tub sets the stage for a great night’s sleep.

After a great breakfast the next morning, we pile back into the car and head home, where the real world awaits…

You’ll note that there’s no shopping on this list. There’s nothing besides kayaking, relaxing, getting massages, eating, and hiking. This trip isn’t about doing things–it’s about being together.

Budget

The bed & breakfast: $770, meals and massage included
Kayak rentals (all day): $75
Fuel: $35
And…that’s it!

Packing List

Swimsuits
Waterproof sandals
Sunscreen
Hiking boots
Comfortable hiking clothes
A cell phone
Speakers, for listening to music wherever we happen to be
Good books

In Summary…

It’s been too long since Donnell and I have been away from home and just enjoyed each other’s company. Our trips to various places have always been about doing things and seeing things and eating things, and this little getaway will give us the opportunity to just be with each other. Ideally, we’ll leave behind all our distractions (except for a cell phone in case of emergency) and remember what it’s like to be free of pressure and expectations and stress.

Sunset 9/26/2011

2011-09-26T19:42:00-05:00

I really missed the sunsets that come with clouds.

What I’m Doing

2011-09-22T08:02:00-05:00

Donnell’s been busy. She’s making a mug rug, knitting a sweater, renovating her craft room, preparing to make a pouch for a swap, and who knows what else. As I’m a reasonably-intelligent, creative, living person, I should be doing something as well.

And I am!

Some time ago, I started working on a promotional video for Lake Waco Montessori school, a Montessori magnet that’s a part of the Waco Independent School District. For various reasons, that project has taken a lot longer than anybody expected it would, but I think we’re on the home stretch. A preview copy of the DVD (containing several short videos on different topics) is in the hands of WISD’s archivist, who is selecting photographs to accompany one of the segments. Once she’s done, I’ll add the photos to the existing video footage, apply some tasteful transitions, and call it complete.

I’m also working on a short video for the same school to enter into a contest, which could net the school $1,000. I hope to finish it on Sunday (which is good, because entries must be submitted by the end of Monday).

Several friends have expressed an interest in playing D&D, so I’m working on setting up a couple of games. Two of those friends (hello, Drew and Ellie!) have never played, so their introduction will be in a small game with Donnell, just to give them a taste of what it’s all about and see if they’re really interested. If they are interested and want to try a more substantial adventure, the larger game will follow, and another friend (with whom we’ve played before) will join. I like the practical application of adventure ideas that D&D offers. Where else can you construct a fantastic scenario and not necessarily be in control of how everything plays out?

The weather is turning, so I’m also considering a knitting project of my own. I need to find a Jayne Cobb hat pattern and the perfect yarn. I don’t have much knitting experience under my belt (having finished a too-small watch cap and a washcloth) but I’m pretty confident I can stumble through a silly hat with a pompom (pompon?) and some ear flaps.

Migrating

2011-09-14T17:21:00-05:00

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve changed blogging systems yet again. This time, I’m using something called Octopress, which is designed by and (mostly) for hackers and other people with seriously geeky tendencies.

I’m turning off comments until my new hosted comment provider (Disqus) imports all of the comments from my WordPress blog and I can confirm that they work correctly.